100 Richest Indians: Rising scions set the stage for next phase of growth

Succession lines are being drawn in several business groups with the next-gen, sporting foreign degrees, stepping up and assuming key positions in their families’ empires. Their dads, however, continue to play strategic roles.

 
NISABA GODREJ, 39
Executive Chairman, Godrej Consumer Products
MBA, Harvard Business School
Adi Godrej’s youngest daughter succeeded him at the family’s consumer goods flagship in May. Nisa has played a key role in expansion across Asia, Africa and Latin America. Younger brother Pirojsha, 36, took charge this year as executive chairman of real estate unit Godrej Properties. Older sister Tanya, 49, is the group’s chief brand officer and has board seats at group companies.

PARTH JINDAL, 27
Managing Director, JSW Cement
MBA, Harvard Business School
Youngest of three siblings and the only son of steel and power tycoon Sajjan Jindal runs the family’s privately held cement maker. Parth wants to double cement capacity to more than 20 million tonnes a year and list the firm. A football fanatic, he also oversees the group’s football club, Bengaluru FC, which plays in the Indian Super League.

SHASHWAT GOENKA, 27
Head, Spencer’s Retail
BA, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Son of Sanjiv Goenka (No 73), was given charge of loss-making hypermarket chain Spencer’s in 2013 at the age of 23. The scion has improved margins and revenues, though Spencer’s has yet to turn profitable. He’s also helping his father with their newly launched packaged-snacks business, Too Yumm.

 

SHARVIL PATEL, 38
Managing Director, Cadila Healthcare
PhD, University of Sunderland
Third-generation scion of pharma clan was named managing director of the $1.5 billion (revenue) generic drugs maker Cadila Healthcare in July. Appointment capped a two-decade stint under dad Pankaj Patel’s (No 22) tutelage. Sharvil plans to sharpen Cadila’s focus on India and emerging markets.

ANAND PIRAMAL, 32
Founder, Piramal Realty
MBA, Harvard Business School
Secured a board seat at dad Ajay Piramal’s health care and financial services flagship, Piramal Enterprises, in May, joining his sister Nandini. He founded Piramal Realty in 2012 and raised $434 million
in private equity investments in 2015 from Goldman Sachs and Warburg Pincus for his property arm.

Aalok Shanghvi
Senior General Manager of International Business at Sun Pharmaceutical
Aalok Shanghvi, 33, is the eldest child of Dilip Shanghvi, managing director and co-founder of global specialty generic drug firm Sun Pharmaceuticals, who is ranked 9th on the 2017 Forbes India Rich List. The Vadodara-based company, which has a portfolio of over 2,000 products, has 42 manufacturing sites in six continents and is India’s largest pharma company with revenues of $4.51 billion in March 2017.

Aalok joined the company in 2007, and has worked his way up from being a product manager to now being a senior general manager of international business (covering Southeast Asia and the Commonwealth of Independent States) at Sun Pharma. This is an important assignment for the junior Shanghvi, considering that 74 percent of Sun Pharma’s sales come from international markets. A graduate from the University of Michigan in molecular biology, Aalok has also been on the board of Taro Pharmaceutical Industries, an Israel-headquartered company that Sun Pharmaceuticals acquired in 2010.

He also founded PV Power Tech, a manufacturer and exporter of photo-voltaic solar panels, with friend Jimmi Desai in 2008. It has now established units across Europe, Asia and Africa.